Big Spring State Park: Guide to Historic Rock Carvings on Scenic Mountain Page: 2
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INTRODUCT:ON
C T 10IT
Scratched deep in Scenic Mountain's Edwards limestone, 210 feet above
the city of Big Spring, over 300 carvings in Big Spring State Park tell the
stories of past visitors. Scenic Mountain is the center point of Big Spring
State Park with sweeping views of the surrounding area and town of
Big Spring. It's easy to see why people have been visiting this spot for
hundreds and maybe thousands of years. Some of those visitors left
their mark in the form of rock carvings visible throughout the park.
An oasis in the middle of a semi-arid region, Big Spring is in an ecologically diverse area at
the crossroads of the Edwards Plateau, Llano Estacado and Osage Plains. A mix of grasslands
with juniper, scrub oak and mesquite makes this area unique; bison were spotted here
through the 1880s.
As the limestone cliffs of Scenic Mountain can be seen for miles, many people were drawn to
the area. Most visitation to the area recorded before 1881 is tied to the "big spring" located a
half-mile southeast of the state park and now in the Comanche Trail Park. Many Native
American artifacts and carvings have been found near the spring's life-giving waters.
One rock carving on Scenic Mountain is thought to be Native American (see page 21).
A prominent branch of the Comanche War Trail followed Sulphur Springs Draw to Big
Spring, but Apache and Jumano peoples also roamed the area.' i . , + f, 'r J '1'' Y r fa
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Rock: q.rry marks . C t, r ' ,5 ; $After 1881 Anglo-Americans began to move into the
area, and with the laid tracks of the railroad, the city
of Big Spring began to flourish. Most of the carvings
on Scenic Mountain were made after that time.
Another generation of carvings appeared between
1934 and 1936 with the Civilian Conservation Corps
(CCC). CCC Company 1857 developed many of the
roads, rock buildings and structures in the park
using locally quarried limestone and hand tools.
You can see their handiwork all over the park.
Check out the rocks making up the park headquar-
ters and pavilion to see hand-chiseled marks on
the rock and the long scars from the quarrying
techniques they used.2
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Texas. Parks and Wildlife Department. Big Spring State Park: Guide to Historic Rock Carvings on Scenic Mountain, pamphlet, May 2019; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1364782/m1/4/?rotate=90: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.